JPH0339899B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to thermoplastic resin coated paperboard containers, and more particularly to containers and blanks having top closures of improved construction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Containers for beverages such as milk, cream, other dairy products, youth and the like are commonly made of thermoplastic coated paperboard. Typically, such containers have a top closure with a folding gable roof, the roof ridge of the gable roof being formed with a vertically projecting seal to seal the container. and configured to easily provide a spout for dispensing the contents of the container.

Coated paperboard blanks for making containers such as those described above are made on machines similar to the converters disclosed in Monroe et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,208 and Arp, U.S. Pat. No. 3,731,600. Blanks made in this manner are known, for example, to Monroe et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,761, to Allen, U.S. Pat.
No. 3,398,659 or Young, U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,833; A shaped, filled and sealed container as shown and described is produced.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) This type of container is generally satisfactory for liquid products, but for frozen juices it is acceptable to use an ordinary container with a removable metal or hard resin top lid. Instead of using cylindrical paperboard containers,
Although it would be desirable to utilize a rectangular or square thermoplastic coated paperboard container similar to the container described above, such a container is not available.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a blank for a frozen juice container with improved top closure means to obtain the desired structure as described above.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved thermoplastic coated paperboard container suitable for filling and then freezing concentrated juice.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a rectangular or square paperboard container with an improved flat top closure structure.

Still another object of the invention is to have two short side edge panels, a front edge panel, and a lid panel, the front edge panel being sealed to the ends of the side edge panels. and the extension of the front edge panel is folded back over substantially the entire width of the front edge panel to form a lifting tab projecting from the front body panel, and the lid panel is folded over the top of the rear body panel. It is an object of the present invention to provide a flat top container that is integrally connected and configured to be folded across the entire top of the container and then sealed to the side and front edge panels.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a container blank 10 formed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Container blank 10 is generally divided into three sections: a top closure 12, a body section 14, and a flattened bottom closure (not shown). The bottom closure may be of any suitable construction and does not form part of the invention.

More specifically, across the container blank 10 are stepped top horizontal fold lines 16a, 16b, 16.
c, 16d and 16e extend and separate top closure 12 and body portion 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the top horizontal fold lines 16a and 16e are at the highest position, and the top horizontal fold lines 16b and 1
6d is located below top horizontal fold lines 16a and 16e and spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the paperboard, and top horizontal fold line 16c is located below top horizontal fold line 16b.
and 16d, and are spaced apart from each other by the same distance as the above distance. A stepped bottom horizontal fold line (not shown) extends across the container blank 10 and separates the bottom closure (not shown) and the body portion 14. The body portion 14 includes a plurality of integrally connected body panels, namely, a rear panel 18, a side panel 20, a front panel 22, and a side panel 24, and side joining flaps formed adjacent the side panels 24. That is, it consists of a thin fifth panel 26. The longitudinal sides of container blank 10 are defined by edges 28 and 30. Rear panel 18, side panel 2
0, front panel 22 and side panels 24 and side joining flaps 26 are defined by vertical fold lines 32, 34, 36 and 38. The body panels may be of equal width, thus forming a square cross-sectional container, or every other pair of body panels may be wider than the other pair of body panels, thus forming a rectangular container. It can also be configured to create a container with a cross section.

Top closure 12 includes side fold-over edge panels 40 and 42. Side fold-out edge panels 40 and 4
2 are integrally connected to the upper ends of side panels 20 and 24, respectively. A lid panel 44 and a front edge panel 46 are integrally connected to the rear panel 18 and front panel 22, respectively. A further panel 48 is integrally connected to the upper end of side joining flap 26. 1st
A diagonal fold line or diagonal fold line 50 extends generally from the intersection of the top horizontal fold line 16b and the vertical fold line 32 to the cut free edge of the side fold edge panel 40, forming a triangular fold panel segment 51. form. Another first diagonal fold line or diagonal fold line 52 extends generally from the intersection of the top horizontal fold line 16d and the vertical fold line 38 to the cut free edge of the side fold edge panel 42, forming a triangular fold. Panel segments 53 are formed.

In other embodiments, the intersection of diagonal fold lines 50 and 52 is moved away from the intersection of vertical and horizontal fold lines by vertical fold lines 32 and 36 to form an improved container top, and the fold panel It may be desirable for segments 51 and 53 to be substantially trapezoidal.

The front edge panel 46 includes a fold-out panel segment 54 connected to the front panel 22 and a tapered fold-out panel segment 56 projecting from the fold-out panel segment 54 such as a perforation line or partial cut. A weakened line 58 is formed. A horizontal fold line 60 is formed across the folded panel segment 56 at a distance from the line of weakness 58 equal to the height of the folded panel segment 54 and
6 is separated into a folded portion 56a and a bent portion 56b. The folded portion 56b becomes a lifting tab as will be explained later. Second diagonal fold line or diagonal fold line 62
and 64 are formed in opposing positions on folded panel segment 54. A diagonal fold line 62 extends from the intersection of the top horizontal fold line 16c and the vertical fold line 34 to the right-hand junction (in FIG. 1) of the free cut edge of the folded panel segment 54 and folded portion 56a, forming a triangular fold. A panel portion 66 is generated. The diagonal fold line 64 extends from the intersection of the top horizontal fold line 16c and the vertical fold line 36 to the fold panel segment 54 and the folded portion 56.
a to the left joint of the free cutting line, resulting in a triangular folded panel section 68.

As described above with respect to diagonal fold lines 50 and 52, diagonal fold lines 62 and 64 also move away from vertical fold lines 34 and 36 from their respective junctions of adjacent vertical and horizontal fold lines to a point on top horizontal fold line 16c. It can also be formed by

The container blank 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is formed into a side-joint blank in a conventional manner. That is, the container blank 10 is rotated with the side panels 24 and side joint flaps 26 together about the vertical fold line 36 so that the inner surface of the side panels 24 is aligned with the front panel 26.
Contact with the inner surface of 2. At this time, the vertical broken line 38
is located adjacent the vertical fold line 34 and the inner surface of the side interface flap 26 contacts the inner surface of the side panel 20 adjacent the vertical fold line 34. The rear panel 18 is then rotated about the vertical fold line 32 so that its inner surface contacts the inner surface of the side panels 20. The inner surface along the edge 28 of the rear panel 18 contacts the outer surface of the side joining flap 26, with the edge 28 parallel to and aligned with the vertical fold line 38. Top closure part 1
2 and the bottom closure will perform similar movements. Next, the container blank 10 is attached to the rear panel 1
8 is sealed where its inner surface contacts the outer surface of side joining flap 26.

In the configuration of FIG. 1, if desired, in making the side bonded blanks, the side bonded panels 26 are connected to the adjacent back panel 1 as described above.
Rather than sealing to the inner surface of 8, it could also be sealed to the outer surface of the rear panel.

Since the top closure constructed according to the present invention results in a flat top structure that is not gable-shaped, the top closure is first formed using the method conventionally used to make a conventional bottom closure. It has been demonstrated that it is more compatible with existing forming, filling and sealing machinery. After filling the container through the open end, each panel associated with the open end is closed and sealed in any suitable manner.

Accordingly, the sections forming the rear top closure 12 in which the side joint blanks are folded into a square shape are folded along respective fold lines in the manner described below to form the top closure structure. Front edge panel 46
is folded inwardly on top horizontal fold line 16c, folded outwardly around line of weakness or perforation 58, and then folded downwardly around fold line 60. As a result, the folded portion 56a engages the folded panel segment 54 and the folded portion 56b engages the upper end of the front panel 22.
Such action may cause folded panel segment 54 to begin to bend along diagonal fold lines 62 and 64. Next, the side fold-out edge panels 40 and 4
2 is folded inwardly toward its counterpart such that panel portions 66 and 68 align with diagonal fold lines 50 and 52 to engage folded panel segments 54.
It is pressed downward while bending along the . Finally, lid panel 44 is folded inwardly and downwardly, and folded panel segments 51 and 53 are pushed downwardly into engagement with respective side folded edge panels 40 and 42.

Each associated member of the top closure 12 is then sealed by conventional means, such as ultrasonic or high frequency vibration sealing means. Sealing of the parts of the top closure can be accomplished by other means, such as gas heating, if desired. FIG. 2 illustrates the top closure 12 after sealing has been performed. Lid panel 44 extends from side panel 20 by a width equal to the height of side fold-out edge panels 40, 42 and fold-in panel segment 54.
Although tightly sealed adjacent the upper ends of front panel 22 and side panel 24, folded portion 56b
may simply be spot welded to the front panel 22 to facilitate release from the front panel 22.

To open the container, the lifting tab defined by the folded portion 56b is lifted from the front panel 22 and pulled rearwardly. This causes the folded portion 56a to be pulled away from the folded panel segment 54, tearing the line of weakness 58. Further lifting of folded portion 56b separates lid panel 44 from side edge panels 40 and 42. At the same time, four folded panel segments 5
1,53, folded panel sections 66 and 68 are also partially peeled away from side folded edge panels 40, 42 and folded panel segment 54. In this way a fully open frozen juice outlet top is provided.

Referring now to FIG. 4, another blank embodiment is illustrated. In this embodiment, parts that are the same as those shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals. However, diagonal fold line 7
0 extends from a point on the top horizontal fold line 16b at or adjacent to the junction of the top horizontal fold line 16b and the vertical fold line 34 to the free edge of the side fold edge panel 40, forming a fold panel segment. Instead of forming diagonal fold lines 62 and fold panel portions 66 in connection with 54, a substantially triangular fold panel 72 is formed in connection with side fold edge panels 40. Similarly, the diagonal fold line 74 is the top horizontal fold line 16d.
from a point on the top horizontal fold line 16d at or adjacent to the junction with the vertical fold line 36 to the free edge of the side fold edge panel 42; Instead of forming fold lines 64 and fold panel portions 68, substantially triangular fold panels 76 are formed in conjunction with side fold edge panels 42. In forming a blank of such construction, the side edge panels are first folded inwardly and then the folded panel segments 5 are folded inwardly.
4. The folded portion 56a and the bent portion 56b will be bent. Thus, fold panels 72 and 76 are engaged and sealed with side fold edge panels 40 and 42, respectively, below lid panel 44.

The present invention is highly suitable for containing youth concentrates, such as orange youth concentrates, and provides easy removal of the concentrated contents after freezing such orange concentrate juices for sale on the market. It will be apparent that there is a need to provide a new and effective thermoplastic coated paperboard container that can be opened in a single manner.

Although two embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, other variations may be possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded view of the inner surface of a coated paperboard container blank for making a container with a top closure according to the present invention. 2 is an enlarged schematic perspective view showing the container folded up from the blank of FIG. 1 in a closed state; FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the container of FIG. 2 in an open state after the top closure has been sealed closed; FIG. 4 is a schematic developed view of the inner surface of a container blank according to another embodiment of the present invention. 18: Rear panel, 20, 24: Side panel, 2
2: Front panel, 26: Side joint flap, 40,
42: Side folding edge panel, 44: Lid panel, 4
6: Front edge panel, 50, 52: First diagonal fold line, 54: Folded panel segment, 56a: Folded portion, 56b: Folded portion, 58: Weakened line, 6
2,64: Second diagonal fold line.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A main body panel having front and rear panels; and a pair of side panels; side fold-in edge panels integrally connected to the upper end of each side panel; connected to each other by a line of weakness; a folded panel segment and a folded panel segment integrally connected to the top end of the front panel, and a folded panel segment spaced apart from the line of weakness by a distance equal to the height of the folded panel segment; a front edge panel having a fold line formed across the width of the panel segment; an integrally connected lid panel of said rear panel; at the end of each said side folded edge panel and said front edge panel; a first diagonal fold line formed in an upwardly converging manner at the end remote from the panel; and a second diagonal fold line formed in either said folded panel segment or adjacent said side folded edge panel. A thermoplastic resin-coated container blank characterized by having diagonal fold lines. 2. A thermoplastic resin coated container blank according to claim 1, wherein each second diagonal fold line is formed so as to converge upwardly on the front folding panel segment. 3. The thermoplastic resin coated container blank according to claim 1, wherein the second diagonal fold lines are formed on each side folded edge panel while expanding upwardly from each other.